Improvement in revolving fire-arms



M. F. GERAGHTY.

Revolver.

Patented Aug. 25, 1863.

MA E

RPETERS, mormuwosmmin, WASHINGTON. D C.

tion of the cylinder.

UNITED STATES PATENT, QFFICE.

M. F. GERAGHTY, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW' JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT I'N REVOLVING FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 39,642, dated August 25, 1863.

To all whom it may concern.- Be itknown that I,MIo1-1 AEL F. GERAGHTY, of Jersey City, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invr nted a new and useful Improvement in Revolving Fire-Arms; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, formingapart of this S1lEClilG2tilOll,ll1 which Figure 1 is a side view of a pistol with my improvement, the barrel and cylinder being therein, and thereby interfere with the-revolution of the cylinder. 7

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, 1 will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A A is the frame of the arm, of ordinary construction. p

B is the cylinder axis-pin, inserted and secured in the frame in any convenient or suitable manner.

The cylinder represented is com posed of two pieces, 0 and D, of which C may be spoken of as the body and D the locking-ring. The body 0 is bored to turn freely on the axis-pin B, and made with a hub,'a, upon which the lockingringis fitted to turn freely, and its entire length, including the hub, is just equal to that of the opening in the frame, that it may rotate freely between the barrel and the recoil-shield A without any longitudinal movement. Its front end, which fits against the rear end of the barrel, is flat, and so is the end of the chambered portion outside of the hub. The lastmentioned portion is of a length somewhat less than thatof the whole length of the cartridges, including the bullets, and the chambers 71 b are 7 bored right'throngh it, that the cartridge may enter some distance into a cavity, d d, in the front of the lockingring. The locking-ring is of a depth in an axial direction about or nearly equal to the length of the hub a, and the whole length of the cylinder from one-sixth to aquarter 0t an inch longer than the whole length of the cartridges, including the bullets.

chambers b b in the body 0, but smaller than the chambers, and has turned in its front side, opposite the said holes, the annular cavity (1 d, the width'of theback part of which is equal to i or not less than the diameter ofthe chambers 11 I), and the front part of which is narrower, forming narrow flanges c f on its inner and outer circumferences. The depth of the recess is such thatit may receive a sufficient portion of thelength of the cartridge protruded through the rears of the chambers to allow the points of the bullets to come within the mouths of the chambers. The flanges of are cutaway opposite to and concentric with each hole 0, as shown at g g in Fig. 4, to form openings corresponding in widthand position with the chambersbb. Midway between the holes 0 0 there are out through the back of the ring into the annular cavity (1 d holesj j for the entrance of the nose at of the hammer, to strike the rear ends of the cartridge-shells and ignite the fulminating priming which is contained therein. The diameter of the exterior periphery of the ring 1) corresponds with that of the body 0 of the cylinder, and there is cut in the front part of it a recess, h, Figs. 3 and 4, for the reception of a projection, t", Fig. .3, on the back of the body 0, the width of the said recess and projection being such as to permit the ring to turn on the hub a only just far enough to present either the holes 0 c or thosejj opposite to the chambers b b.

The shells E E of thecar'tridges are made cylindrical or slightly tapering from the front toward the rear, and with grooves or circumferential recesses k at such distance from their front ends that while the points of the bullets It has dulled through it a circular. series of holes, 00, corresponding in number and position with the turned on the hub a to such a position as to shown in Fig. 2, and the cartridges are then inall the chambers'in positionfm the'reeeption' arm is held with the muzzle downward, but I prevent'them from comingin contact wit-h the enough forthe reception of the fulmina'ting priming, forming thin hollow flanges l in rear of the said grooves.

To load the cylinder the locking-ring D is bring the holes 0 0 0nd the openings 9 g in its flanges ef opposite to the chambers b b,'as

serted into the chambers from in front of the cylinder and pushed back through the openings g g in the flanges cf of the rings into the recess d, the whole cylinder being turned as often as is necessary to present the mouths of of the cartridges, and the loading being thus effected without removing the cylinder from or opening the frame. When the chambers-have beenvall loaded the ring D is turned on the hub as far as permitted by the projection iviz., far enough tobring the hammer-openings jj opposite to the cartridges, as shown in Fig. 1; and the. flanges e and f, being then received within the grooves 7c of the cartridge-shells, ef-. fectually prevent the slipping forward of the cartridges, and thereby not only prevent them from dropping out. of the chambers when the frame and interfering with the revolution of the cylinder. To reload after the cartridges'in all the chambers have been fired, the lockingring is turnedto bring the holes 0 c opposite the chambers, and a rod, which is kept'under the barrel, is inserted from the rear of the cylinder through all of the said holes in sucees-' the body, with holes in it for the receptionof I V the'rear en'd's'o'f'tne cartridges, and a lockingring of a thickness only equal to the flanges e f, fitted to turn between the body 0 and the first-mentioned ring, said locking-ring having its interior cut away at intervals, as shown at g g, in the outer flange, f, of the locking-ring D, andthe intervening portions serving, like the flange f, to enter the grooves 7c in the cartridge-shells-and lock the cartridges inthe cyl-- inder.

WhatIcl-aim as my invention, and desire-to by'Letters Patent, is v The employment of the locking-ring D, constructed, arranged,.combined, and operating I in conjunction with the rear-portion ot' the cylinder O and the cartridge-cases E, as herein shown and described.

v M. F. GERAGHTY.

Witnesses:

DANIEL ROBERTSON, M. S. PARTRID 

